Make Every Voice Heard! The Power Of Victim Perspectives In Fighting Hate Crime

19 Nov 2017 - 24 Nov 2017,

Make Every Voice Heard! The Power Of Victim Perspectives In Fighting Hate Crime

UNITED Conference near Berlin, 19-24 November 2017

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

International UNITED Conference near Berlin, Germany

UNITED invites your organisation to nominate a delegate for the UNITED Conference near Berlin, Germany:

Make Every Voice Heard! The Power Of Victim Perspectives In Fighting Hate Crime

Hate Violence threatens social peace in Europe, however, the dimensions of these bias motivated attacks are largely unknown. Governmental recordings and NGO data only show the tip of the iceberg – underreporting and underrecording of Hate Crimes and Violence constitute a widespread problem in all European countries. But even if an attack is recorded, the victim’s needs often remain almost completely invisible. The lack of recognition by most members of the major society, national governments, official authorities and the law enforcement and low awareness of discrimination and Hate Violence and their serious consequences is part of the problem. It can lead to even more violence. Hate Violence needs to be recognized as a societal problem to ensure treatment, support and justice for those who are affected.

Hate Violence is not only the victims’ problem. It concerns everyone. That´s why civil society and human rights activists have to fight against it. We have to take the social responsibility to fight Hate Crime and we should do it together with the people who are affected. We have to act in solidarity and solely on behalf of the victims. Therefore, we have to listen to their voices, understand their needs and implement a victim-centered approach in our engagement.

To share understanding, learn about victim-centered approaches and hear about victims’ needs, UNITED invites European antidiscrimination, youth and victim-support organizations to nominate delegates to participate in the conference Make every voice heard! The Power of Victim Perspectives in fighting Hate Crime “, which will take place near Berlin, Germany, from 19th to 24th November 2017. We especially encourage organizations to delegate representatives of vulnerable groups and minorities in Europe who are willing to share their (personal) experiences with Hate Violence and discrimination.

What can you expect?

Considering that Hate Crime and Violence and, even more, the fight against it, are extremely complex topics, our conference aims to create a platform to:

–understand what Hate Crime and Hate Violence is

–listen to the experts in this field and get some theoretical background

–find out how Hate Violence affects individuals, groups and our society by listening to personal testimonies

–learn about victims´ needs and how to implement victim-centered approaches in your everyday work

–work in groups to develop strategies for victim support, media, advocacy, campaigning or community work

–initiate joint actions for organizations as well as produce future working materials and strategies to tackle Hate Violence

–pave the way for future cooperation

The conference programme combines debates, workshops, sharing of experiences and good practices, political cafes and many other methods for learning from practical experience.

We are aware that Hate Violence is a difficult and a sensitive subject for a conference. Some issues might trigger you as a participant. Nonetheless the organizers do their best to provide a safe space and will furthermore react on any reported issues.

About the situation in Germany

In Germany, a great increase of right-wing, racist and antisemitic attacks took place during the last three years. The German Association of Support services for victims of right-wing, racist and antisemitic violence” (VBRG) counted 1948 attacks and 3050 victims in the year 2016. Most targeted groups are refugees and asylum seekers, migrants, black people as well as the Jewish community, the LGBT-community and homeless people. In addition the right-wing violence against antifascist and antiracist activists, human rights defenders and against journalists and politicians raise to a new level. While there is a lack of recognition for Hate Violence and its causes within official institutions many NGOs work in the field of prevention, education and advocacy. In some parts of Germany, specialized organizations offer a wide range of professional support to the victims of both Hate Violence and discrimination. Others do a great job in monitoring incidents or in establishing a memorative culture for the fatalities of Hate Violence. The racist killing spree of the neo-Nazi network NSU was especially persuasive for many organizations to get active in the field. Some even rise to the challenge to implement a victim-centered approach.

What is UNITED?

UNITED for Intercultural Action is the European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants, refugees and minorities. Together with over 550 supporter organisations all around Europe, ranging from local grassroots associations to national and international NGOs, UNITED coordinates campaigns, organises conferences, takes part in projects, produces publications and undertakes advocacy work to protest against discrimination and promote our shared vision for a diverse and inclusive society.

This conference is prepared by:

Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH), Poland

German Association of Support services for victims of right-wing, racist and antisemitic violence (VBRG)

Movimiento contra la Intolerancia, Spain

Romanian National Council for Refugees

RAA Saxony – Support for victims of hate violence, Germany

Social Action Centre, Ukraine

In cooperation with:

German Association of Support services for victims of right-wing, racist and antisemitic violence (VBRG)

This conference has been made possible with the financial support of:

The European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe

The Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union

German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

The information contained herein does not necessarily reflect the position nor the opinion of our sponsors. Sponsors are not to be held responsible for any use that may be made of it.

If your organisation is interested in nominating a representative, please fill the online expression of interest form (in English) as soon as possible (deadline 10 September 2017).

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TECHNICAL INFO:

Working methods

The conference will be based on participatory approaches and spaces for joint work and sharing of knowledge and skills. The methods include: Debates, workshops, trainings, presentations, political cafés, icebreakers, good practice market, cultural activities, open forum, sharing good practices, etc.

Participants

The conference is planned for 85 participants (living in the countries of the Council of Europe) who represent (inter)national antiracist, antifascist, refugee, and minority rights organisations. Active grass-roots groups from all over Europe are also invited. We are especially interested in nominations from organisations working with minorities, and on the topics of antidiscrimination, hate speech, and hate crime. As a participant, you should have:

– knowledge of and passion for the topic,

– advocacy and/ or campaigning skills,

– experience with strategy development,

– plans on multiplying the knowledge gained into your organisation’s own activities.

Your knowledge, expertise, and input as a participant will be invaluable. Together with around 85 NGO representatives from more than 30 European countries you will review different perspectives on the situation of migration and asylum in Europe, explore various tools and methods for victim support, share best practices and get to know other activists and organisations from every corner of the continent.

That is why we would like to invite your organisation to nominate a delegate for this conference and join us in Germany in order to meet, learn, and network. We offer you the opportunity to get connected and build networks across Europe, and share your approaches in migrant and refugee rights work.

Participation is rotated from one conference to another, so your candidate might not be selected if you were a participant at another recent UNITED conference, and organisations are advised to nominate delegates who have not participated at previous UNITED events.

Priority will be given to nominations from young delegates (up to 30 years old), and to delegates with a minority background. Preference is given to our official supporter organisations and those organisations that actively take part in UNITED campaigns. Participants should act as multipliers, spreading the information to as many people as possible. Since we have limited sponsored places, organisations that can cover (part of) their delegates’ travel costs have a higher chance of being selected. We will try to reach an equal balance of female/male participants and a good geographical distribution.

Each organisation can nominate only ONE delegate.

Language

The conference language is English. All participants are expected to have at least basic knowledge of English. But don’t worry; English is almost nobody’s mother tongue. If you have difficulties in expressing yourself, we can help each other.

FURTHER INFORMATION

– Please fill in the online form completely providing all data as requested and in English. If you invest more effort in the application it has more chance to be successful!

– Each organisation can nominate only ONE representative (living in Europe).

– Sending this form to UNITED does not guarantee that you will be selected for the conference – we receive many more nominations than we have places for participants at the conference.

– Only selected candidates will be informed about the result of their selection and receive further information via e-mail around 20 September 2017.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Organisations interested in nominating a delegate should fill the online expression of interest form before the deadline: 10 September 2017 24:00